Page 47 - HUDCO-SHELTER-OCT21

CONCEPT NOTE
Addressing a meeting of Mayors convened by
C40 cities on 16 April 2021, the UN Secretary-General said:
“Cities are also on the frontlines of the climate crisis. More than half a billion urban residents already
face rising sea levels and more frequent or severe storms. By mid-century more than 3.3 billion
urban residents could be at risk from severe climate impacts. Cities also have an outsize carbon
footprint. With just over half the global population, they emit more than 70% of global greenhouse
gases. The COVID-19 pandemic is a global catastrophe. But investment in recovery is a generational
opportunity to put climate action, clean energy and sustainable development at the heart of cities’
strategies and policies. How we design power generation, transport and buildings in cities – how we
design the cities themselves - will be decisive in getting on track to achieve the Paris Agreement and
the Sustainable Development Goals. We need a revolution in urban planning and in urban mobility:
including better fuel efficiency; zero emission vehicles; and shifts toward walking, cycling, public
transport, and shorter commutes. Cities stand to gain most from phasing out coal: clean air; green
outdoor spaces; healthier people.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, at the Meeting with
Rapid advances in technologies and the falling

cent by 2050 using technically feasible, widely
available mitigation measures (figure 3). This
cost of renewable sources of energy have
means that city actions can potentially reduce
resulted in a shift to renewables as a source
global emissions by over 70 per cent. This
of energy. It is estimated that two-thirds of
potential reduction can be achieved through
the global population live in countries where
a combination of measures that target the
renewable sources are more competitive than
energy generated from conventional fuels. Such
urban form in expanding cities as well as the
gains on the supply side must be matched by
buildings, transport, material efficiency and
waste management sectors. Urban planning
action on the demand side to reduce overall leading mayors supported by C40 Cities, 16 April 2021.
energy consumption and to meet the Paris can steer urban growth towards low carbon
WHD CONCEPT NOTE
Agreement goals. Cities, the main centre of urban development through advancing climate-
energy demand, must lead the Race to Zero. friendly urban forms (compact, mixed land-use
net-metering,
Figure 3: Sectoral breakdown of technically feasible and and connected and accessible cities) geared
retrofitting
It has been estimated that GHG emissions

buildings to improve their
available mitigation measures to achieve a 90% greenhouse towards reducing vehicular trips and instead,
from cities can be reduced by almost 90 per
gas emission reduction. encouraging the use of non-motorized transport
energy efficiency, promoting
a transition to shared and
such as walking and cycling.
5% public transport and the
Waste Sector Public and green areas play a key role as carbon
uptake of electric mobility.
16% sinks, in regulating temperature and reducing
Materials Investors and businesses are
urban heat-island effects. Simultaneously,
playing a central role in the
measures can be taken to improve access
transition to a green economy.
to basic services while reducing their carbon
on
Investments
focused
footprint. These could include better water
social
environment,
and
demand management, waste-water treatment
have
factors
governance
through nature based solutions, better municipal
21% 58% surged recently. Cities in
Transport Sector Buildings Sector waste management and material recovery,
collaboration with national
uptake of micro-grids, renewable energy and
attract
can
governments
net-metering, retrofitting buildings to improve
investments, for example,
their energy efficiency, promoting a transition to
for smart energy grids and
shared and public transport and the uptake of
buildings through enabling
Source: UN-Habitat
policies
Figure 3: Sectoral breakdown of technically feasible and available mitigation electric mobility. and incentives
measures to achieve a 90% greenhouse gas emission reduction. Source: UN-Habitat and by show-casing
urban development through reducing urban heat-island innovative projects as seen
advancing climate-friendly effects. Simultaneously, in the SOLUTIONSplus
urban forms (compact, mixed measures can be taken to project bringing cities and 3
land-use and connected improve access to basic entrepreneurs together to
and accessible cities) geared services while reducing develop electric mobility.
towards reducing vehicular their carbon footprint. These
trips and instead, encouraging could include better water The New Urban Agenda, the
the use of non-motorized demand management, waste- shared vision for a better and
transport such as walking and water treatment through more sustainable urban future
cycling. nature based solutions, adopted at the UN’s Habitat III
better municipal waste conference in Quito, Ecuador,
Public and green areas play management and material in October 2016, provides an
a key role as carbon sinks, in recovery, uptake of micro- enabling framework for
CONCEPT NOTE
regulating temperature and grids, renewable energy and implementing these measures.
Speaking on the topic of “From rapid urbanisation to the Green Shift”
during the “European Development Days”, on 15 June 2021,
UN-Habitat Executive Director, Maimunah Mohd. Sharif said:
“Urban transition can be an opportunity to change the way cities are organized, to leapfrog to more
sustainable infrastructure, and deliver on the green transition. 70 per cent of all the infrastructure in
2030 is yet to be built. Decision-makers need to realise that they have the power to either support
resilience, equality, and low-carbon development by the decisions they make today. Their indecision
or lack of conviction will deprive future generations of a better future. It is really that simple “
Investors and businesses are playing a central settlements should be planned, designed,
governed and managed. Policy, legal and
role in the transition to a green economy. October 2021 Volume 22 No. 2 - SHELTER 45
Investments focused on environment, governance frameworks have an important
social and governance factors have surged role to play in increasing cities’ resilience and
recently. Cities in collaboration with national in helping cities reducing their GHG emissions.
governments can attract investments, for They define urban forms, determine where land,
example, for smart energy grids and buildings infrastructure and basic services can be built,
through enabling policies and incentives and lay out the rules for planning and decision-
by show-casing innovative projects as seen making, and set the context within which urban
in the SOLUTIONSplus project bringing cities authorities, local governments and communities
and entrepreneurs together to develop electric are expected to fulfil their mandate and react to
mobility. emerging challenges.
The New Urban Agenda, the shared vision for The New Urban Agenda comprehensively
a better and more sustainable urban future addresses these aspects and lays out a broad,
adopted at the UN’s Habitat III conference in multilevel, and cross-sectoral framework with a
Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016, provides an spatial focus that can accelerate global climate
enabling framework for implementing these action and provide the means to localise the
measures. It sets out how cities and human SDGs (figure 4).
NATIONAL URBAN POLICIES
Framework conditions for compact and
integrated city planning and the
provision of basic services LOCAL IMPLEMENTATION
Protection of green and public spaces
and biodiversity Governance structure for integrated
land-use and transport planning, capacity
Guiding urban GHG inventories of local authority officials and technical
NEW URBAN AGENDA Steering Sustainable Urban Mobility staff, preparation and implementation of
bankable projects
Plans, Energy Audits, Building codes for
energy efficiency, off-grid or micro-grid Civil society engagement
A spatial framework for energy systems and standards for basic Collaboration between cities and local
service provision, including water,
global climate action and sanitation and waste management private sector entrepreneurs
localising the SDGs Encouraging public-private sector Conduct VLRs to meet SDGs and
collaboration, civil society participation, undertake ambitious Climate Action
capacity building and knowledge
exchange
Guidelines for Voluntary Local Reviews
(VLRs) for SDGs and Climate Action
Horizontal (inter-ministerial)
coordination
Figure 4: Framework for localising SDGs
4